Wednesday, December 12, 2019SOIS faculty/alumni team defeat Sabers varsity team, 55-54, for first victory since 2003

For Makoto Honda, 1998 graduate of SIS (then known as OIA, Osaka Intercultural Academy) and veteran of many basketball victories on the Sabers hardwood, Wednesday night’s annual Fossils-Sabers matchup was especially important.

“You know, this was the first time I’ve ever been on the winning side in this game,” Honda remarked after the game. “The Fossils always beat the varsity team back when I was a Sabers player in the 1990s. The teachers back then, like Mr. Combes, Mr. Pekin, Mr. Tromburg, Mr. Berg, Mr. Searle, Mr. Zulauf, Coach Bonnette, Coach Heimer, those guys could really ball. Then, once I joined the Fossils team about 15 years ago, all those guys moved away and Heimer got old, and the varsity have always won. So, I’ve always been on the losing end.”

Until Wednesday night. ​

Fossils victorious over Sabers varsity team, 55-54.

Riding the hot hand of business office staff member Keishi Uenoya (career-high 21 points), the Fossils defied the odds and gravity to remain within striking distance of the younger, faster, bouncier Sabers. In the 4th quarter, with 25 seconds left, Uenoya tied the game at 52, exciting the partisan pro-elderly crowd of dozens. Twenty seconds later, Sabers leading scorer Keita Sasaki (30 points) coolly drained a contested baseline jumper to put the Sabers aheadby 2 with 4.3 seconds left.

After a timeout, the Fossils inbounded the ball in their front court. Honda, the Sabers legendary former point guard, found himself with the ball and surrounded by varsity defenders, leaving him no choice but to throw up a deep and desperate runner as time expired. When the 3-point attempt went through the net as the buzzer sounded, the Fossils players and several fans mobbed Honda, no longer a Fossils-Sabers game loser. (Video below.)

Uenoya was euphoric after the win. “Yeah, it was a great feeling, that’s for sure. I’ve been working on my game every week in the semi-pro WNL (Wednesday Night League) and I guess it all finally paid off,” said Uenoya.